Drew McIntyre once was in the situation Theory finds himself now and believes the up-and-coming WWE star is in a better position to succeed.
McIntyre, now a two-time WWE champion, was dubbed “The Chosen One” at 24 years old when Vince McMahon called him a future world champion during an episode of “SmackDown” in 2009. It took until 2020 for the Scotsman to finally win that first WWE world title and live up to the lofty expectations that Theory currently finds himself working under.
The 24-year old from Georgia was also called a future world champion by McMahon and has been working since last November as the WWE chairman’s on-screen protégé. Theory, who recently had the Austin dropped from his character name, had a feature match at WrestleMania 38 against “SmackDown” commentator Pat McAfee and mixed it up with McMahon and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in an angle after the bout. Theory is also the current United States champion. It is the level of support Theory is getting on- and off-screen that McIntyre feels is different than what he experienced during his time in that role. McMahon, according to reports, sees a young John Cena in Theory.
“It’s very similar to the ‘Chosen One’ thing except Mr. McMahon is much more hands-on with this one,” McIntyre said in a phone interview ahead of WrestleMania Backlash on Sunday (8 p.m., Peacock). “I ran into the issue of Nexus wrote him off very quickly at the start of my storyline so I was without him on screen a lot of the time. He’s really invested in this and giving Theory all the tools to succeed.”
McIntyre described Theory as someone with the look and talent to make good on his promise and has talked to him enough to “know he gets it and he’s gonna be just fine.” Part of that is because the WWE locker room is different than when McIntyre was getting started with the company. He felt people may have been “a little jealous” of the attention he was getting and not looking after his best interest. With Theory, everyone wants “to make sure he succeeds.”
“He’s very much the case of his ears are always open,” McIntyre said. “He’s always listening. He doesn’t know it all. He observes and he’s grateful for the opportunity.”
It’s all part of the reason McIntyre sees Theory as having the potential to be a true foundational piece in WWE for year to come.
“He’s genuinely a young guy, somebody we can build the company around in the future,” McIntyre said. “So why not give him all the tools to succeed. I do believe that he can succeed and he will succeed. It will be on him to keep his feet on the ground, make good decisions.”
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